From the NY Times:Over the past year and a half, Mr. Lambros has photographed 20 abandoned theaters in the Northeast, and has plans to visit others farther afield. Two of his subjects are in New York City: the Loew’s Kings Theater in Flatbush, Brooklyn, which is being restored, and the RKO Keith’s Theater in Flushing, Queens, which is scheduled to be transformed into something else entirely: a $160 million complex with apartments, retail space, a senior center and parking. (The theater’s landmark lobby will be preserved.)
In the meantime, the Flushing theater is a particularly poignant example of Mr. Lambros’s work, which he calls “After the Final Curtain.”
“It’s this big, giant empty space in the middle of a busy city,” he said. “That one, more than any other one, is incredibly sad, because of the way it’s fallen apart over the years. The ceilings have collapsed, and there’s all this gorgeous architecture that’s been ruined due to water damage.”
The photographs in the slide show above were taken during six or seven visits to the theater. It is pitch black inside, Mr. Lambros said; he used a combination of a hand-held lantern, a wireless camera flash and long exposures to illuminate the imagery.
108 comments:
Wow is all I can say. That is not the RKO Keith where I watched Stripes, Return of the Jedi, Airplane and several other movies that were forgettable. That picture looks like a nightmarish Van Gogh than the movie theater I remember.
What a great photo. Now we all know the extent of the man-made distruction of a truly magnificent theatre.
Thank you Donald Manes, Claire Shulman, CB#7 (Wellington Chen & Myra Herce), Thomas Huang, Gene Norman and a host of others.
The only thing I can say is that I have many fond memories of the Keith's Theatre and of Flushing that you can't take away from me.
ATTENTION Claire Shulmam: This photograph will now forever be associated with you're legacy.
What an awful shame!! That interior had a beautiful ornateness about it. I recall the last movie I saw there, Prince's "Purple Rain" as one of my fond memories of this one-magnificent theater. Don't forget Julia Harrison as one of Huang's dirty players also.
Donald Manes;
Claire Shulman;
Tommy Huang:
NEVER FORGET---
the Keith's---"TRIAD OF DESTROYERS"!
They were, of course, aided and abetted by a supporting cast of crooks that feigned concern but did as little as possible to stop the crime in progress.
We shall not recognize any of these supporting players by calling out their individual names.
Suffice it to say that you all know who your are!
You will share the scorching dust of Hell along with Manes, Shulman and Huang, for your shameful "legacy"---when the time arrives for your final curtain.
The Keith's old vaudeville ghosts don't rest easy! Nor shall you!
Of this we are certain.
AMEN.
Rest in peace, RKO Keith's.
We all did our best but were betrayed by our appointed and elected representatives.
P.S.
Councilwoman Julia Harrison (and staff) deserves special recognition for being in the trenches with the community in battling Tommy Huang and his cohorts.
Ackerman is supposed to represent Flushing, but if he cared a bit, he would have long ago provided Federal funds to re-built the RKO Keith.
You're either an asshole "Emma Goldman's Ghost" or a troll!
Julia Harrison was the only elected official who didn't take crap from Tommy Huang or the others that sold out the Keith's...like CB#7, the Stavisky mob, etc.
Blowhards like them just stood around on the sidelines...bellowing their concern but followed the Democratic machine clubhouse's rule to lay off Tommy Huang and let the RKO be destroyed.
The clubhouse didn't want to insult the Taiwanese or the money they bring to our election and re-election campaigns!
Tthat treacherous midget Wellington Zhou Chen (a Taiwanese compatriot of Tommy Huang) chaired CB#7's landmark committee back then.
Maybe he advised Huang to do, what is obviously, a quick bing-bang once-around the-auditorium sledgehammer job.
So, by destroying as much of the Keith's ornamentation as possible it could never be resubmitted for its original full interior landmark designation.
In 1986 our committee did, in fact, submit to the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission over 3,500 petition signatures to have the Keith's original FULL INTERIOR landmark designation restored.
As I was personally told by Marjorie Pearson---the LPC's director of research at that time---Claire Shulman REFUSED TO SUPPORT the measure!
Today, Shulman remains a corrupt, malevolent, lowly cur just like her mentor Donald Manes.
We hold her CHIEFLY RESPONSIBLE for what you see in this poignant photo.
She could have prevented the destruction but she DELIBERATELY chose not to.
Ackerman is one of Tommy Huang's closest friends!
DAMN CHINKS!!!
This picture is worth a million words and now it's here for all to see....the disgusting product of political clubhouse corruption!
It all began years ago.
In exchange for mega $$$$$ from Taiwan, Donald Manes and his associates let Tommy Huang & Co. have Flushing!
Their plan was to create an Asian colony to drive out the "dark" folk and inflate the value of the downtown real estate.
There was no "blight" in Flushing in the 1970s...only some poorer "Blacks & Latinos".
They had to be sent packing....
and so they were by the Asian secret societies who invested millions of dollars to take Flushing for their own.
So it was, the usual, urban renewal and people of color removal!
No doubt, Donald Manes was supposed to use his Asian kickback money to propel himself into a higher office like mayor maybe....who knows?
But here we are today....f----d then gutted like the Keith's.
And that "band" at Community Board 7 plays on!
"Julia Harrison was the only elected official who didn't take crap from Tommy Huang......"
Harrison didn't take crap from convicted felon Tommy Huang, or convicted felon James Jao, the ex City Planning Commissioner or the notorious Wellington Chen, former Board of Standards and Appeals Commissioner. In fact Harrison tried to block Chen's appointment by reaching out to Mayor David Dinkins.
These guys, and so many others, tried so hard to "strong arm" Harrison, but she NEVER gave in.
As far as the Keith's issue, she and her staff worked with the Committee to Save the Keith's in organiztion a demonstration and setting up numerous meetings with city agencies and elected officials over the years. Just like the Committee, Harrison tried. Others, like the Stavisky's, just issued statements or ignored the efforts to preserve the Theatre.
Claire Shulman is the one who should be held accountable for what you see in the photo. She and she alone could have prevented that distruction.
The Korean developer who took possession of the property and then allowed this to happen should be deported! It is a disgrace that this even happened in the first place.
Racist and wrong "anonymous #5"!
It was most of your DAMNED appointed and elected officials who made this performance possible.
They stood by and did
Jack-doodly-hoo-hoo to help---besides taking photo ops and delivering sound bites.
Now it finally can be told---that the RKO Keith's was just their welcome political football.
All it meant to them was a feather in their caps---so that come election time they could say they stood with their constituents and fought for the Keith's!
Horse dung!
For instance:
Mc Lauglin "fought so-o-o-h hard" and named Huang, "Public enemy #1".
Big deal!
Though, Brian seemed to have turned out to be close to that himself.
The Stavisky crew just busily issued "statements"---demanded lengthy "chronologies" from our committee---but did not significantly contribute any real assistance beyond rhetoric to stop Huang in his tracks.
Could they have actually all been in cahoots with Tommy Huang (or his and Queens Borough Hall's agenda)?
Nobody knows for sure.
Our committee, of all people, certainly hate Huang, but only for what he did.
Speaking more realistically---
look at it this way---
Tommy Huang was just your typical greedy criminal who was only following his depraved yet natural instincts---like a snake eats a rat.
That's Nature.
Claire Shulman, on the other hand, was supposed to protect us from the likes of a criminal predator snake like Huang.
But she didn't!
Therefore, she deserves to hang the highest on the scaffold and bare the lion's share of the blame for the Keith's destruction.
And why her above all others?
BECAUSE SHE COULD HAVE PREVENTED ALL OF THIS FROM THE GET-GO!
I caution the public to
remain keeping their watchful eyes upon Shulman.
She hasn't finished her job yet!
Your neighborhood will be sacrificed next for her idea of the "betterment" of the borough!
Tommy Huang was Taiwanese/Chinese not Korean.
You're not up on your RKO Keith's history.
Maybe all Asians look the same to you.
Yes, Julia Harrison did march along with about 150 of us down Main Street in a demonstration to save the Keith's.
It's not our intent to kiss-up to anyone in particular.
There's no need to.
We're merely stating the truth.
Councilwoman Harrison did the most in going after all of Flushing's criminals!
It was because of a criminal investigation launched by her office that Tommy Huang was convicted of oil spillage and illegal asbestos abatement in the Keith's theater.
He cannot build condos within New York State today as the result of another investigation launched by the councilwoman.
She actually worked very hard with our committee and community, while many others gave the Keith's cause only lip service.
Church leaders also joined in and marched down Main Street on that day ,demanding the Keith's be saved.
I remember it well.
Too bad.
That theater really could have been a tourist draw.
Not any more thanks to Wellington Zhou Chen, the other silent inscrutable architect of its destruction.
It was Apelian who chaired the CB 7 committee that recommended the upzoning of the area, at the request of the then RKO Keith owner, developer Boylmergreen. The upzoning allows the construction of the proposed monstrous building.
"Ackerman is one of Tommy Huang's closest friends!"
------------------------------
BINGO! Right on the money.
Tommy Huang once tried to bribe Julia Harrison to help him with the Keith's. "Julia, stopped with the Keith's and I'll take you to Taiwan for a fund raiser, just like I do for Gary"
Of course Harrison didn't take the offer, in fact Huang was asked to leave and Harrison contacted the Council's investigative division and the Dept. of Investigation.
Huang is a master of the "pay to play" game. He contributes to all political campaigns, in the form of buying "tickets" to both local and county-wide fundraisers.
When Harrison was first elected to the NYC Counci, Huang made a contribution, in cash, to Harrison's Campaign. Although Huang contributed the same cash contribution to all campaigns, Harrison was the only one who declared it. And regretted it.
Huang often boasts about his relationship with Ackerman, claiming to be able to just drop in at Ackerman's Jamaica Estates home unannounced.
The TDC Rockefeller group will soon complete the transformation of Flushin/hub on both sides of the Flushing River.
That's the real plan!
Willets Point and Muni Lot #1 are both scheduled to be built by them.
TDC is bound at the hip to Zhou (Wellington) Chen...though he vehemently tries to deny it.
Look it all up folks!
The internet is a marvelous tool for research.
Maybe the Keith's will be flipped to TDC also...after their "occidental White boy" Patrick Thompson (who's most likely fronting for them) gets the needed building variance.
FYI:
The RKO Keith's architect, Jay Valgora's design firm, is showing plans for a pedestrian bridge linking City Field to the Keith's environs on his web site.
Might Wellington Zhou Chen be the quiet man behind it all?
One of the few pictures ever released in the press of this figure...who normally prefers lurking in the shadows...shows the diminutive Zhou sitting right next to "granny" Claire.
Last year, Chen & Shulman were caught by the camera lens schmoozing together at a Willets Point fete.
Could Chen have been the quiet Queens clubhouse's Asian connection all along instead of the much more obvious confrontational public figure Tommy Huang?
TDC recently boasted their Flushing Commons project as "East meets West" in the Queens Tribune.
Bah!
Cut the BS Michael Meyers.
It looks more like East stomps all over West!
Flushing IS NOT being remade into a progressive multicultural center.
It's designed to become a totally intolerant mono cultural ghetto...to the exclusion of Latinos, Russians, Olde Tymers, Blacks, Indians, Pakistanis, Native Americans, etc.
Once the Chinese complete their 5 year plan...EVERYBODY ELSE IS OUT!
They don't want you...only themselves!
I've already moved so it don't mean squat to me in the long run.
Except that downtown Flushing, once my home, could have really been transformed into something much more than simply mediocre.
That photograph doesn't depict neglect or "water Damage". That photo shows what was allowed to happen at the Keith's Theatre. It was destroyed. And Claire Shulman allowed it to happen.
ABSOLUTELY!
Claire Shulman allowed it to happen1
How do you spell Shulman?
O-L-D C-O-R-R-U-P-T C-U-N-T!
ABSOLUTELY!
Claire Shulman allowed it to happen!
At least the theater looks better than Shulman!
ABSOLUTELY!
Claire Shulman allowed it to happen!
At least the theater looks better than Shulman!
O-L-D C-O-R-R-U-P-T C-U-N-T!
Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!
You know what they say about loose lips!
How do you spell Shulman?
------------------------------
She's the BIG "C"! And we don't mean Claire.
Tommy Huang's wrecking crew swung the actual hammers, but the Shulman demolition company supervised the job!
Shulman will join Manes in hell soon, judging from her decrepit appearance lately.
It don't look like she'll ever see her Wellington Pointe job completed.
It don't look like she'll ever see her Wellington Pointe job completed.
I guess she blew it! Wellington's point, that is!
If you folks don't stop, I'll have the Mets throw me another benefit at Citifield. Plastic surgery is expensive! Do you know how costly it is to rent a jackhammer these days?
I guess she blew it! Wellington's point, that is!
----------------------------
wouldn't take much, especially with her lips.
I guess she blew it! Wellington's point, that is!
----------------------------
wouldn't take much, especially with her lips.
==============================
And the size of his point!
I saw Claire at an event recently an complimented her on her fashion sense, assuming she was wearing textured stockings. Oopsy! She wasn't wearing stockings. My bad!
I just don't get your beef with the former Queens borough president. Don't you know that cows are sacred in India??!!??!!?
It breaks my heart to see the theatre in that condition. Just like it breaks my heart to see what has happened to Flushing.
TDC recently boasted their Flushing Commons project as "East meets West" in the Queens Tribune.
-------------------------------
On their website it's "West meets East. Either way it horrible.
In other countries and in other cities and in other cultures, that theatre would have been cherished and preserved.
Just look at what was done to it. Truly a reflection on what society, secret or otherwise, has become in Flushing
It will be 25 years, this coming Labor Day that the Keith's Theatre was closed. A whole generation never will know how grand it was.
TDC recently boasted their Flushing Commons project as "East meets West" in the Queens Tribune.
-------------------------------
On their website it's "West meets East. Either way it horrible.
***********************************************
Looks to me like East Conquers West!
I saw Claire at an event recently an complimented her on her fashion sense, assuming she was wearing textured stockings.
-----------------------------------------------
Yeah, I made the same mistake. I thought she custom ordered stockings with a road map of her version of Willets Point. Those blue lines sure had me fooled as well!
I just don't get your beef with the former Queens borough president. Don't you know that cows are sacred in India??!!??!!?
-------------------------------------------------------
That's udderly true!
You don't have to travel to another country to see how a really savvy municipality would have treasured an exquisite vintage movie palace like the Keith's.
I now take a short trip to Jersey City (at least once a month) via the LIRR and PATH lines.
That's just about 80 minutes door to door for me.
What's waiting at the end of my brief journey is the magnificent "Loew's Jersey" wonder theater.
Last Sunday, Rudolph Valentino's classic B/W silent film,"The Eagle" was shown accompanied on the wonder Morton theater pipe organ.
What a spectacular program for only a $10 admission fee!
We could have had it all in Flushing
if the Shul-Manes administration didn't stab us in the back and steal it from us!
What we lost, due to the tunnel vision and greed of our officials---seasoned with some bribe money from Taiwan---we can now enjoy in our neighboring state.
Check out the "Friends of The Loew's" website to see the varied programs that this world class performing arts center offers.
This is not a jerkwater "Theater In The Park" type of venue.
It's a 90% restored---approximately (I'm guessing) 3,800(?)seat house.
Forget Flushing. It's a dump!
Go to Jersey City!
I'm very glad I had testified before the Jersey City Council on behalf of the Loew's back in 1987.
I said that I'd attend performances there---and I now do!
Queens mostly has 3rd rate crap to offer in lieu of real culture.
Its become just a boring bedroom borough thanks to boro hall.
We are now forced to commute for quality entertainment as well as to our jobs.
Queens Council on Culture and The Arts is a total joke.
That's where clubhouse favorites get rewarded with lucrative patronage jobs.
What's Terri Osborne's salary these days?
Its become just a boring bedroom borough thanks to boro hall.
Bullcrap!!! Have you seen all of Bloomturd's development over the last decade or so? It's not all bedrooms, is it now?
Looking at photo#1
I would say somebody who knew about architecture made strategic voids in that roof.
The Bushwick theater (now converted to a a school) was made the same way by the same guy. Its natural water damage looked nothing like the deliberate damage done to the RKO Keiths.
Some people belong in jail including some city officials who didn't spot what was going on
Bullcrap?
Queens is still a bedroom borough bereft of quality stimulation.
The bedrooms are now also located within highrise beehive mega buildings.
A bedroom borough doesn't only refer to small suburban houses.
It's a state of mind.
Get it now?
A lot of Queensites are still unimaginative commuters.
I would like ask a question.
Who can we count on to protect our borough's historic and architectural treasures?
Not the weak kneed historical societies who are often most fearful of losing their funding if they rub borough hall the wrong way.
Not the community boards who are often in the pocket of developers.
Not many of our elected officials who are highly dependent upon the real estate industry for their campaign contributions.
Not the NYC Landmark Preservation Commission who consider Queens invisible.
So where do we go from here?
Get it now?
No, asswipe! I see industrial growth throughout northern Queens. I don't see it as a bedroom borough thanks to Bloomtard, Marshill, Shillman, Stashitsky, etc. Take your head out of your ass much?
I was involved with community organizing back in the '80's. Harrison was in Huang's pocket at the time. When the shit hit the fan, maybe she realized she was losing her base and made it look like she cared. Believe me, she was no "fighter". I am not a troll or an asshole; I was right there in the trenches, unlike my potty mouthed critic. I recall Harrison not doing anything to help the store and business owners who were being threatened and shaken down by Huang's thugs who were walking into their places of business lighting lighters and striking matches. The threat of arson was open and brazen, and she did nothing. Wellington Chen wasn't even a player back then. This occurred even before the Keith's demise. Maybe I'm wrong about her "not taking crap" but before that she took whatever was offered, apparently. That was the word on the street. There are trolls on this blog who have taken offense at criticism of Julia Harrison before. Too bad I was a Flushing resident involved in tenant and community organizing and knew exactly what was going on in that neighborhood from 1978-1992. She was never in our corner. Remember the Continental Fruit Store fire? Ever speak to a store owner who experienced the pleasures of being shaken down?
emma goldman, the self-proclaimed tenant and community organizer,stated: "Wellington Chen wasn't even a player back then."
Really? He has been a "player" and active in the Flushing Community since the mid seventies. He was appointed to community board #7 by Donald Manes and servd on the community board during through 1980's, at the same time Tommy Huang did. He was there during the numerous arson fires, including the Continental Fruit Market and others. He was there when the Keith's Theatre was destroyed an he's still here. But very much behind the scenes. So, what was the point of even mentioning Wellington Chen? To defend him?
"Too bad I was a Flushing resident involved in tenant and community organizing and knew exactly what was going on in that neighborhood from 1978-1992."
yeah, it's too bad.
Harrison was in Huang's pocket at the time.
-------------------------------
Julia Harrison was never in anyones pocket. Least of all Huang's.
I remember seeing a similar photograph years ago. This one actually shows the theater cleaned-up, if that's poossible. The old photo showed some scenery on what was a stage.
What a shame, it was something else in it's day.
It looks dangerous.
Try "Tucks" brand...asswipe.
They'll burn your mouth less...butt plug!
Get a mind tune up while you're at it.
You sound like you've got a bedroom borough brain behind your ears!
Emma sounds more like she's really a Nat, Harvey or another from that Stavisky ass kissing crew.
I won't reveal your last name Nat, Harvey, whoever.
You see, I was there too with you old malcontents at the time.
Now try and guess who I am "Emma".
Or is it enema?
The Stavs have hated Harrison since Toby lost her city council bid to Julia.
You should have bit the bullet and given up your rent controlled apartment...and moved away from Flushing years ago.
You are really bitter bub or an assigned Stavisky troll for sure!
And what did Leonard Stavisky do to stop Huang while Flushing was burning?
Just bellow and blow as I recall.
Oh, Leonard once publicly accused Tommy Huang of arson so that he would look like a crusading senator.
Until one day Lung Fong Chen, Huang's lawyer, told Senator Leonard to shut up or get sued!
After that not a peep from Leonard.
Not a move to open up any investigations.
Oh he dolled out the anti-Huang rhetoric by the bushel full, but cowered under his wife's skirt rather than take any action.
The Senator just did what he was told by the Queens machine...which was to leave Tommy Huang alone because that's the way Donald Manes wanted it.
Now Toby follows her party's line of BS just like her late husband did.
She's got to keep her job.
Toby rubber stamped the Boymelgreen and Thompson plans along with CB#7 so that a high rise mega-monster can be built upon the bones of the RKO Keith's!
THESE are the people who sold you out.
And you all keep on re-electing them!
It serves you right to get what you deserve.
The Staviskys were always an "all show and no blow" pair of politicians.
Where are their RESULTS?
It was under their watch too that Flushing turned into a crap hole.
Their major accomplishment seems to have been delivering a constant deluge of Julia Harrison bashing.
And Toby Ann's North Flushing Senior Center appears to take in more money then they actually spend on the seniors.
Where's the all rest of that "dough" gone to?
H-m-m-m-m ? !!!
Someone is bitterly defending someone else...I did give up my rent stabilized apartment, and I did give up on Flushing and moved to a more liveable part of Queens. I am not "self-proclaimed" but part of a larger group...Flushing United Tenants. Chen was NEVER mentioned back then. Maybe he was around but you can stop with your vitriol; I'm just a citizen with no axe to grind other than the truth. I lived in that neighborhood and watched it being dismantled, with signs in Chinese only. I agree that Shulman, Manes, and perhaps Ackerman were complicit in this Keith's travesty, but to defend Harrison so staunchly is ridiculous. She was part of the problem back then. You can attack me all you want; that doesn't change what she didn't do when she could have. She did not appear to be interested in saving Flushing from Huang's predatory development back then. I am not involved at all in local politics now, you obviously think you are. I have ethics, unlike the crowd you keep mentioning. Something I said made you mad to refer to my comment name as "enema". You should do standup comedy...maybe on the corner of Roosevelt and Main.
I thought that this posting was all about the sad state of the Keith's and not deteriorate into a war between the Stavisky and Harrison forces.
Emma (or is it Bruce B.) is sure nervous and all riled up this morning.
Try decaff instead of full leaded.
Or...maybe it's Richard, now living in the Bronx.
Is that a better guess at your real ID?
P.S.
I've moved away too.
Vitriol...Geritol...you old fogies...please get back to the original subject!
The Queens machine killed the Keith's!
"Flushing United Tenants"...
h-m-m-m-...wasn't that a Stavisky "sponsored" organization ?
The Stavs always set up various orgs to gain them increased press coverage.
i.e.
The North Flushing Senior Center.
Who's the "mad" one now Emma?
LOL...
Zhou (Wellington) Chen's trolls are up early today.
Chen hates his name exposed.
GET USED TO IT...YOU'RE GOING TO SEE MUCH MORE OF IT!
Success in his line of work depends upon him remaining obscure.
Zhou keeps a low profile while selling out Flushing/Willets Point to TDC and hates the spotlight.
Then he retires to his quiet (high quality of life) home in Little Neck...THAT'S AFTER HE'S FINISHED SHITTING ALL OVER THE DOWNTOWN AREA!
Yep...Chen's trolls are "...spreading the appropriate propaganda..."thickly today.
He'll be exposed yet when the feds finish their current investigations.
Let's retrace a bit of little history back to 1986.
I first entered the RKO Keith's theater shortly after Tommy Huang had embarked upon his demolition derby.
If you go to the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission to examine the early photos of the auditorium's interior, you will come to a clear conclusion---as I and some theater preservationists already have.
Tommy Huang's "demolition" work in the theater DID NOT follow the usual scheme of a normal demolition procedure.
Those photos clearly reveal that Huang's workers went all around the interior (possibly in a cherry picker) and deliberately smashed and trashed a lot of the intact ornament in a haphazard fashion.
Up and around the proscenium---holes were banged and the skylight above the fly gallery was smashed---permitting water to cascade down upon the stage.
Holes were opened up in the roof.
That's where your "water damage" came from!
Rain continues pouring in today.
THIS WAS ALL MAN MADE!
The "water damage" that subsequently occurred over 25 years has covered up this evidence.
While this was going on,
Claire Shulman just stood by indicating she was relatively helpless!
Can you imagine a poor feeble borough president---with Donald Manes as her mentor with no power?
Not me! How about you?
Shulman, in fact, openly defended Huang.
Julia Harrison's office sought sever punitive measures against this criminal and asked Shulman for her support in this.
Shulman's brazen reply was,
"Hasn't he suffered enough. He hasn't been able to build on the site".
What an arrogant self serving swine!
What contempt she exhibited toward her constituents.
SHE'S AS GUILTY AS MANES in betraying our borough!
#1.
Shulman was the producer of the Keith's horror show.
#2.
Huang was the director.
#3.
Donald manes was the executive producer.
There's your
"TRIAD OF DESTROYERS"!
The Keith's is actually a crime scene and a handful of the original perps are still walking around today, long after Manes' death.
Flushing is a 3rd world dump, if they're any non Asians left, I suggest you leave now, it is over & will never be the same again...do you want dried eel head with that???????
"I am not "self-proclaimed" but part of a larger group...Flushing United Tenants."
---------------------------
Flushing hasn't been united on anything in years, that's why it was ripe for the taking by the Asiatics.
http://www.nytimes.com/1987/04/29/nyregion
/center-for-elderly-provides-jobs-for-stavisky-allies.html
I guess some things never change. Does anyone know when the FEDS will start investigating the North Flushing Senior Center? It's an investigation long overdue, just like Moby's library books!
"Emma",
remembering the old "fire sale" days in Flushing---do you recall "Baccigalup's Restaurant" on Main Street that was fire bombed?
Wasn't it located in a Tommy Huang owned building?
And there was a fire at the Keith's while it was under Huang's ownership.
That old "Continental Fruit Market" fire that was mentioned earlier looks like it paved the way for building the "Great Eastern Bank".
Wasn't Comptroller John Liu's father Joseph Liu convicted of bank fraud while he served as an officer at that bank?
Isn't John Liu related to Tommy Huang's family through Tommy's wife Alice Liu Huang?
A lot of questions need answering!
Manes; Ackerman; Shulman; Huang; Liu; Chen; Herce; Mc Laughlin; Stavisky, Nussbaum:
What do they all have in common?
THEY'RE CROOKS!
What has Councilman Peter Koo got to say RE the RKO Keith's these days?
If you can understand a word he says, that is.
"Velly, velly bad sitruation".
Does John Liu still live across the street from Chuck Apelian?
Or is he just maintaining that address while he commutes from his other address (is it in) Connecticut?
Isn't Mitchel Linden's co-president John Choe still up John Liu's ass, working for him?
remembering the old "fire sale" days in Flushing---do you recall "Baccigalup's Restaurant" on Main Street that was fire bombed?
I miss Stretch!
Isn't Mitchel Linden's co-president John Choe still up John Liu's ass, working for him?
I wouldn't doubt it but you meant to say Mitchell-Linden Civic Association aka a pure waste of time!!! It's quite amusing to watch the leadership up each others' butts as well. Sounds like Flushing is soon going to have a sniff fest!
Orientals to the right of me.
Asiatics on my left.
With poor Black/Latino me stuck in the middle!
I'm looking at an apartment in Brooklyn this afternoon.
What else can I do amigo?
The "slopes" want us out.
FYI:
One more stop at the NYC Board of Standards and Appeals this month and the Keith's new owner Patrick Thompson gets his variance to build.
Community board 7 and Queens Borough Hall already gave their approval for the planned building to go ahead.
Their plan was to create an Asian colony to drive out the "dark" folk and inflate the value of the downtown real estate.
There was no "blight" in Flushing in the 1970s...only some poorer "Blacks & Latinos".
They had to be sent packing....
and so they were by the Asian secret societies who invested millions of dollars to take Flushing for their own.
So it was, the usual, urban renewal and people of color removal!
----------------------------------
News flash; "They" are still all around the downtown Flushing area, regardless of how many asians have invaded the area. If this was truly the plan of Manes et al, it backfired in every conceivable way.
Their plan was to create an Asian colony to drive out the "dark" folk and inflate the value of the downtown real estate.
There was no "blight" in Flushing in the 1970s...only some poorer "Blacks & Latinos".
They had to be sent packing....
and so they were by the Asian secret societies who invested millions of dollars to take Flushing for their own.
So it was, the usual, urban renewal and people of color removal!
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News flash; "They" are still all around the downtown Flushing area, regardless of how many asians have invaded the area. If this was truly the plan of Manes et al, it backfired in every conceivable way.
Wasn't urban renewal, Black removal, part of Myra Baird Herce's agenda too?
Wasn't this one time chair of CB#7 once overheard referring to people of color as "the wrong element"?
What a pack of racist dogs Flushing's olde tyme fathers are, with their better yellow than black credo!
So now we have to dodge Chinese spit wads on the sidewalk!
C-c-h-h-h...(spit) pa-tooooey!
Whoa...here comes a snot rocket...look out!
What a low blow town!
Program note:
Tonight at the landmark Loew's Jersey movie palace, from 7:00 to 8:30 PM, there's a complimentary theater organ memorial concert being offered if anyone is interested in attending.
A quick zip on the PATH train to the Journal Square station and you're there in a flash.
The Loew's theater is right across the street as you exit.
Forget about Flushing.
Grab yourself some tasty architectural eye candy in Jersey City at the grand Loew's theater!
I just saw the other photos - they're heart-breaking. The Keith's is shattered and with it, the town we called Flushing.
May they both rest in peace!
I rememer there was a wishing well on one side and that spectacular fountain when you walked in the lobby. Going to the RKO was an event.
I remember men lining up around the block, from Northern Blvd to Prince Street to 35th Avenue to Farrington Street - just to get into the Keith's to see a closed-circuit TV brodcast of the fights. Oh, the days before cable TV.
Manes; Ackerman; Shulman; Huang; Liu; Chen; Herce; Mc Laughlin; Stavisky, Nussbaum:
What do they all have in common?
---------------------------------
The Queens County Democratic Party?
My graduation from Bleeker (JHS 185) was at the theater in 1971.
Kaye's School of Dance, which was located on 37th Avenue and Union Street, had a dance recital at the theater in 1973. I had no idea that the theater had such a big stage. It was great.
WMCA Radio 570 AM (First on your dial in New York) did a show at the RKO Keith Theater in 1962? I don't remember who I saw on stage but, I got a "Good Guys" sweatshirt from the show.
I needed a culture fix so I attended that theater organ concert at the Loew's Jersey Theater last night, which I mentioned earlier.
It was fabulous!
It restored my soul!
And I really needed that---as these images of the desecrated and destroyed Flushing Keith's Theater were still making my head spin.
But, I began to wonder and question myself.
How could Jersey City, known for its history of corrupt politicians, manage to save its wonder theater and why Queens couldn't ?
I concluded that the answer must lie in the fact that Queens Borough Hall---and the politicians who serve its agenda---must be far more crooked than any corrupt mayor Jersey City has ever seen!
Early this Mother's Day morning---
I find myself, once again, staring at this image of the Keith's ruined auditorium.
Br-r-r-r !
Then suddenly, like a splash of icy water on my face, it became very clear to me.
Has anyone seen that old MGM movie, "The Picture of Dorian Gray" (a classic) or are familiar with the story?
Please do download it!
Well,
this portrait of the Keith's, which was hidden from public view for nearly a quarter of a century---
is actually the picture of Claire Shulman's soul!
Take a good look at your soul Claire!
This portrait will follow you throughout history.
It's your legacy!
Some additional Mother's Day thoughts:
Shulman was a bad mother
She did not see fit to nurture or preserve such a treasure.
Back in the late 80s, then Borough President Shulman could have prevented Tommy Huang from destroying the irreplaceable Keith's.
But this cold blooded accomplice of Donald Manes abandoned her constituency and left Flushing's child in the clutches of a predator to molest and mangle.
Happy mothers day, Ms. Shulman.
You certainly are one big MF, for sure!
There---I've told it like it is.
Since the Keith's Theater (and my reputation) have nothing further to lose---let my critics now condemn me for speaking what's most likely on everyone's mind.
That was just not a movie theater, it was a way of life for the people of Flushing and the neighboring communities. A big part of our lives were spent in the Keith's Theatre. I've read the postings about graduations, recitals and stage shows there. These are moments that we will always treasure.
It's disgraceful that it is in such a horrible condition. If it is true that this is a result of the actions of a few corrupt politicians, expose them for what they are and then damned them to hell.
P.S.
At a future date, several of our committee members intend to create an on line narrative, detailing the Shul-Manes administration's complicity in the demise of RKO Keith's Flushing Theater.
We sincerely hope (at least) that Manes' partner Claire Shulman is still alive to read it at the time of publication.
"At a future date, several of our committee members intend to create an on line narrative, detailing the Shul-Manes administration's complicity in the demise of RKO Keith's Flushing Theater."
- - - - - - -- - -
Jerry, don't forget to include the complicity of CB7's leaders in the narrative.
Maybe some of the posters here have additional information, and should contact you.
Emma, or is it Evan (as in Stavisky), Goldman is a little off with the time frame.
Wasn't Julia Harrison an Assemblywoman up in Albany while that Continental Fruit Market conflagration occurred?
And wasn't it Ed Sadowowsky who was
the City Councilman at that time?
So put the blame on Sadowsky instead of Harrison....for it was on his watch that Flushing first began to go to hell.
As for that "fine" veteran lawmaker, Senator Leonard Price Stavisky....he never lifted a finger to call for a state level investigation into Huang's alleged arson activities.
Maybe Len's middle name "Price" indicates he was bought off by Huang!
Bah....LOL!
Emma's so full of it that a double enema wouldn't Flush(ing) her out.
"And wasn't it Ed Sadowowsky who was the City Councilman at that time?"
------------------------------
A flash from the past!
He was the head of the City Council's Finance Committee.
Why did he resign so abruptly?
Enema Goldman's Ghost is full of bullcrap!
One of the reasons Flushing turned to shit was that the Harrison and Stavisky camps were so busy making war on each other that the real enemy...THE TAIWANESE...crept in....spread some bribes around....and took the town without much of a fight.
Instead of cooperating for the town's good, these alley cats were busy clawing at each other!
If there had been cooperation between our city and state lawmakers, Flushing wouldn't look like crap today!
Neither would the Keith's.
CB 7 didn't pull out all the stops to save the RKO theater.
They talked a good game but pulled their punches.
Wellington Chen was chair of their landmark committee when this all went down.
I'll bet he didn't raise much of a sweat working very hard to ensure the preservation of the Keith's!
Wow such nastiness. Focusing on a commenter instead of the issue; it's the entire corrupt Queens Democratic machine and its unholy alliances with Huang. Even if Harrison was assembly woman not council woman, she was more involved than Sadowski was at the time. These commenters are derailing this conversation; "Emma" obviously struck a nerve very deeply. Perhaps Ms. Harrison herself is the troll on this blog; perhaps it's Huang or one of his gangster lackeys. There are lots of commenters full of bullcrap, not just "Emma". Focus on the issues, not your egos. If you have nothing constructive to say, then shut up. It does appear that "Emma" was there before Huang destroyed the beautiful Keith's and the other Flushing landmarks. Where was Ms. Harrison back then, anyway? Historically, she did nothing against Huang until AFTER he had already destroyed the Keith's interior. He thought he was a Taiwanese warlord who saw Flushing residents as his serfs.
Methinks the previous poster has something to hide. Revisionist history is not welcome here, ya troll (which coincidentally rhymes with asshole)! Why don't you post some information to prove your "facts". What's that? You can't? Didn't think so.
"Emma" may be a troll or even a commie sympathizer for all I care. Whatever "Emma" is, "Emma" has a selective memory that is not factual. In any case, who gives a shit.
The Keith's is gone and Claire Shulman is responsible. She allowed it to happen.
"Emma" is just one of the Stavisky camp's colorful, do nothing, old Jewish lefty trolls (still hanging in there)...assuming the namesake of an early Jewish 20th century headline seeking anarchist, who's nearly forgotten herself...except in some small arcane circles.
Nice to see a few (octogenarian?) "Commies" still left in their fold.
Hey, ENEMA...
what did Leonard Stavisky do to stop Huang while he was parking his fat Senatorial ass up in Albany?
He held far more power than fledgling Assemblywoman Harrison.
NOT VERY MUCH AT ALL...judging by the results!
Now we've got his shifty wife Toby Ann to continue doling out Flushing to developers.
"Wow such nastiness".
And WHAT DID YOU PERSONALLY DO to prevent Huang, the Taiwanese war lord from taking over your old town...stroke your...uh...own ego?
I'll bet you joined that (LOL) "highly effective" Stavisky run, Assemblyman Mort Hillman's Community Affairs Committee at the time.
They didn't do diddly either...just a collection of gas bags...and a convenient listening post for the Stavisky mob.
All these comments about the CB7 abuse yet only 35 people have signed the petition at the top of this blog to get them removed????
Sorry but signing petitions (especially the on line variety) are purely a waste of time.
Whether you have 35 or 35,000 signers.....it don't mean squat in the end!
FYI:
There were over 8,000 people who signed petitions the old fashioned way.....on a street corner.....to save the Triboro Theater on Steinway Street in 1974.
It's long gone!
That was (sort of) the Keith's sister theater.....built by the same architect.
Word has it that Donald Manes' representative told the group trying to save it to buy it.
Further adding, "You have 8,000 signatures but you don't even have $800 among you"!
Proof that money talks and bullshit walks.
And....LOL....petitions.....they just get ignored!
Crooked old CB#7 is here to stay.
Get rid of the current bobble heads and they'll soon be replaced by worse!
Good luck Mr. Malba.
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